Zaha Hadid’s estate worth over £70 million

Details of the British-Iraqi architect’s will have been released, with controversial ZHA director Patrik Schumacher gifted £500,000 as the sole beneficiary outside her family.

Leaving much more than a catalogue of ambitious works and a mourning global profession in her wake, documents recently secured by the Architect’s Journal have now put a figure to Zaha Hadid’s sizeable estate.

At the time of her death, the influential architect was worth a staggering £70.8 million, a sum dented by more than £3 million owed in debt. Among the executors of Hadid’s will are artist Brian Clarke, her niece Rana Hadid, former Serpentine Gallery chairman Peter Palumbo and the provocative ZHA director Patrik Schumacher, who has been gifted a cool £500,000 from the estate.

Following his appearance at the 2016 World Architecture Festival, Schumacher has become a divisive figure in the public eye. His recent comments advocating the abolition of social housing and public space in London have brought a maelstrom of heated criticism, including from his own team.

The practice published a statement condemning their current director’s views, reading, “Patrik Schumacher’s ‘urban policy manifesto’ does not reflect Zaha Hadid Architects’ past – and will not be our future,” in the open letter signed on behalf of the ZHA office.

Rana Hadid, Brian Clarke and Peter Palumbo have also come out in opposition of Schumacher, stating that, “The views recently expressed by Patrik Schumacher regarding the closure of art schools, the abandonment of social housing and the building over of Hyde Park are his personal views and are not, in any way, shared by us.”

The Zaha Hadid Foundation as well as the architect’s companies and family members are the remaining beneficiaries of the will.

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